


Making Progress

by hibiren



Series: Jay's JoSeb Collection 2017 [8]
Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Anniversary, Conversations, Cute, Drabble, Emotional, Emotional Support, Emotions, Fluff, Gentle Kissing, Gentleness, Joseb - Freeform, Light Angst, M/M, Memories, One Shot, Rain, Recovery, Short, Talking, conversations over tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-04 03:15:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16338770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hibiren/pseuds/hibiren
Summary: Four years later, Joseph and Sebastian still struggle with their recovery, surviving, and the questions they know they might never find the answers to. But in the end, they still have each other.





	Making Progress

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Fourth Anniversary to The Evil Within (10/14/14)! I wanted to write a brief little drabble of an idea I had, to celebrate. I have a lot of other drafts (mostly ffxv) I hope to get to this weekend if I can find the time! The little idea popped into my head; I just want to see these men together and happy the way they deserve to be after everything they've been through! So I made a little thing~

“It’s been so long,” Sebastian muttered, glancing out the window of their apartment as a steady trickle of rain kicked up in brief gusts of wind, sending little white-rapids scatters across the concrete road below. “Today… was just like that day all those years ago.”

“Yeah.”

Joseph cradled a mug of tea in his hands. The liquid inside, slight cream and sugar, swirled as he shifted, waves in a contained chai-colored sea. A ghost tendril of steam drifted from the cup although the tea was on its way to cooling, chilled by the slightly biting temperature of the evening.

Sebastian sat across from Joseph in his well-worn sofa chair with his elbows against his knees. His arms rested between his legs although the posture wasn’t one of relaxation. Tense uncertainty flickered within his eyes and Joseph took note.

“...We’re alive.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian’s answer echoed through the room, brief yet heavy.

“You’re alive,” Joseph added, when Sebastian turned to glance at the framed picture of himself, Myra, and Lily that still remained over his fireplace. The one he couldn’t bear to get rid of.

“But so is he.”

“We don’t know that, Seb, he hasn’t appeared. It’s been four years. We’re safe and we have protection. We have  _ each other. _ If we have to move, we have to move, but we’ll do whatever it takes together. If he is alive, he shouldn’t have power outside of STEM, should he? He’s in our world now. We’re not in his.”

Joseph couldn’t bear to say his name. Just mentioning, even at the mere thought of the man (was it fair to say he was man, after what had been done?), brought a sour taste to the back of his throat. An unsatisfying sip of tea momentarily drowned out the discomfort. He set the mug down on the table beside the couch and gestured for Sebastian to join him, patting the empty space next to him.

A moment passed and Sebastian moved to join Joseph. He grunted when he stood, a noise of effort and discomfort. When he sat next to Joseph, Joseph moved closer and rested a gloved hand against Sebastian’s knee.

“We’ll be alright, Seb. We’ve made it this far.”

“How do we know we’re not just living some kind of dream?”

Joseph offered Sebastian a small smile. The hand on Sebastian’s leg slowly reached up to touch his cheek, rough with growing stubble felt even despite Joseph’s gloves. Joseph gently turned Sebastian’s head more to face him. A moment later, it registered in both their minds that they were drawn together, breathing into a kiss. Gentle, desperate, but full of life and recovery.

The meeting of their lips turned to Sebastian’s teeth at Joseph’s jawline, then his neck. Nipping, just a hint of a moment that was gone as soon as Joseph gasped in realization at the fading sting.

“Seb,” Joseph hesitated, and when Sebastian’s questing teeth tasted his skin again, a quieter plea followed as his gloved hands held tight to his partner’s loose shirt. “ _ Sebastian _ …”

“You okay?” Sebastian asked, eyeing the scattered pink blemishes with a slight smirk of success.

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Then… as long as you’re okay, so am I.” A bit more emotion shone through, in the form of a smile, the smirk fading into something heartwarming.

“As long as we’re together, we can handle anything,” Joseph agreed with a nod.

The mug of tea, forgotten and now cold, stayed in its place on the table for the rest of the evening. Outside the rain still fell but provided a quiet ambience as the two shared the rest of the evening in hesitant exploration of each other’s bodies, touching every place as if to say,

_ We’re here. We’re alive. We’re together. Nothing will stand between us again. _

**Author's Note:**

> If you ever want to chat with me about anything, feel free to message me on my tumblr (hibiren) and I'd love to chat! I want to be more involved in talking to people so let me know if you have any thoughts/just want to talk about things! I don't bite I promise~
> 
> Currently experimenting in a style shift so I hope it went okay! Let me know what you think?


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